By Doreen Mokgolo
A shop attendant who allegedly hit Siphamandla Mphuthi on the head with a hammer for stealing an energy drink was denied bail by the Daveyton Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
He was charged with murder and being an illegal immigrant.
On Wednesday last week, the 28-year-old Mphuthi was found by his brother, Mpho Mphuthi, with head injuries and rushed to Pholosong Hospital, where he died on Thursday.
Initially, the murder was pinned on the Malawian shop caretaker, but witnesses at the scene cleared him.
On Saturday, the family, accompanied by an angry mob supported by local civic movements, marched to the shop, demanding the arrest of the shop attendants and the shop’s closure.
They also submitted a memorandum to the Daveyton police demanding that all shops in the area owned by foreign nationals be closed.
In an interview with Scrolla.Africa, Eric Mahlangu, the regional chairperson of the Progressive Civic Congress, said the community had given the shop owners seven days on Saturday to pack their belongings and move.
“We are complying with the police orders to allow them enough time to pack their belongings. We are counting down the days; we want them gone,” he said.
“These people want our money but don’t want us. They killed Siphamandla for a drink that cost R10. This shows our children are not safe.
“Last year, three men were caught attempting to break into one of the shops in the area. They have gone missing, no one knows what happened to them, and the shop owners are refusing to talk,” he said.
Mpho Mphuthi said all the family wants is justice for Siphamandla and for those responsible to be held accountable.
Ekurhuleni district SAPS spokesperson, Captain Neldah Sekgobela, urged the community not to take the law into their own hands but to contact the police to deal with lawbreakers.
A second shop attendant was charged with being an illegal immigrant.
Pictured above: Siphamandla Mphuthi.
Source: Supplied
